Karnataka HC upholds KSRTC driver’s conviction in fatal crash

Observing that “a professional driver is duty-bound to exercise heightened caution and is expected to anticipate unexpected events within bus station premises,” the High Court of Karnataka upheld the conviction of a KSRTC driver who fatally knocked down a 75-year-old pedestrian inside the Chickballapura bus station in 2019.

Justice V. Srishananda made these observations while upholding the conviction of Nagaraj G.H., a resident of Tumakuru, for causing death by negligence under Section 304-A and rash driving under Section 279 of the Indian Penal Code, and the one-year sentence imposed by the trial court.

The petitioner, who was driving a bus, hit Chitrashekharappa near platform 14 while the victim, along with his wife, was searching for a bus; he later succumbed to his injuries.

The court expressed disapproval of the driver’s defence strategy as, instead of explaining the circumstances, he had denied the occurrence of the accident entirely during his statement recorded under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

“Since the bus was moving inside the bus station, if the accused had driven the bus at the required speed and with diligence, he could have applied the brake to avoid dashing against Chitrashekharappa. Such an explanation is not forthcoming in the accused's statement. Pertinently, in the spot mahazar, there is no brake marks noticed,” the court pointed.

Delving into the standard of care expected, the court remarked that the accused was required to exercise “extra diligence” precisely because he was driving inside the precincts of a bus station.

Rejecting the plea that the conviction would cost the petitioner his job and impact his family, the court held that such hardship cannot be treated as a mitigating circumstance to set aside the imprisonment, while directing him to surrender by May 31 to serve the remaining sentence.